Apparatus for producing glass fibers



5 Feb. 2, 1965 R. F. THEOBALD 3,168,390

V APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING GLASS FIBERS Filed Sept. 7, 1962 INVENTOR. E085 7' E T/IE08AZ D United States Patent 3,168,390 ARPARATUS FOR PRODUCING GLASS FIBERS Robert F. Theobald, Shelbyville, Ind., assignor to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Pittsburgh, Pin, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 222,968 1 Claim. (Cl. 65-11) This application relates to the manufacture of fiber glass and particularly to apparatus for manufacturing that product which is produced by impinging a high velocity, hot, gaseous blast onto a plurality of filaments or primary fibers produced by flowing streams of molten glass through orifices from a source of molten glass.

In producing fiber glass as above described, the primary fibers are attenuated by means of mating rolls, called cott rolls in the trade, for deliverance into the gaseous blast. In order that each primary fiber is attenuated by the blast and to prevent a number of fibers adhering to one another when they are softened by the blast, means known as guide means, are used. Such guide means include two parts; namely, an upper guide means positioned on the orifice side of the cott rolls but closely adjacent to the cott rolls, and a lower guide means positioned on the blast side of the cott rolls and closely adjacent to the path of the blast. The latters position is important in order that proper attenuation of the primary fibers occur.

The guide means of this invention is relatively simple in construction and is practically maintenance free. The upper guide means assures proper spacing of the primary fibers with realtively little wear on the guide means. Stones, i.e., enlarged bodies of different composition, freely pass the upper guide means without disturbance of the process. The lower guide means forms an anchor for the fibers being attenuated by the gaseous blast.

In the usual guide means, both the upper and lower guide are fixed members having grooves therein for spacing the fibers. A pivotable grooved member is generally associated with the upper guide member for start-up. This pivotable member has grooves corresponding in number and spacing to those of the guide member and is pivoted to an inoperative position after start-up.

The grooves of such described prior guide members become worn because of the abrasive characteristic of the fibers continuously passing over the same part of the guide. When a stone attempts to pass the guide, the frictional drag opposes the passing, with the result that the groove becomes clogged with glass. The function of the groove is thus destroyed, so that the fiber must be removed from that location and either permitted to drop to waste or threaded into an extra groove in the guide. Numerous extra grooves are usually provided, extending the length of the guide.

The upper side member according to this invention is a comb which includes a support and a plurality of flexible pins secured at one end thereof to the support. Alternate pins are of one length and different from the remainder, so that threading of the guide is relatively easy. The longer pins are easily flexed, so that a fiber can be placed into the space between adjacent pins. Due to the flexibility of the pins, stones cause flexing of adjacent pins and pass the guide without clogging of the space.

The lower guide according to this invention is a freely rotatable grooved cylindrrical member, so that frictional drag caused by fibers passing thereover is materially reduced in magnitude. This construction materially reduces "ice the wear caused by the fibers passing over the member and also reduces the likelihood of groove clogging by a stone. It has been found that stones generally pass the guides without clogging. Thus the number of extra grooves and the length of the guide means can be materially reduced.

To further understand the invention, attention is directed to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the general arrangement for producing fibrous products and illustrating the guide structure of this invention in its proper location;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper guide member of this invention; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower guide member of this invention.

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated a feeder 10 connected to a source of molten glass 12 and having a plurality of laterally spaced orifices through which streams of glass issue pulled into primary fibers or filaments 14 by a pair of pulling rolls 16 and 18. The filaments are held spaced by an upper guide means, generally identified as 20 and a lower guide means 22. Between the feeder and the upper guide means is a comb 24 serving to gather the filaments or primary fibers into a predetermined lateral area while maintaining each spaced from the others for delivery to the upper guide means and the pulling rolls. An idler roller 25 having a cylindrical surface is supported on an axle just below the comb 24 to line up the fibers 14 into a plane for delivery to the upper guide 20. The primary fibers 14 are fed into a hot gaseous blast from burner 26 for attenuation into small diameter fibers which are collected on a moving foraminous conveyor 28 as a blanket or mat for subsequent processing.

The upper guide means 20 includes a fixed support 30 having a plurality of pins 32 affixed at one end thereof to the support, each pin being spaced at predetermined distance apart and each space receiving a primary fiber or filament. Alternate pins are of different lengths, so as to ease threading of the guide. The moving fibers pass through the spaces between pins without abrading the pins, so that the abrasion problem generally encountered in guide members is eliminated. A stone merely flexes the space defining pins and passes without disruption of the process.

The lower guide member 22 is a fixed positioned rotatable cylindrical member having a plurality of grooves 34 about its periphery. It is freely rotatable by contact with the moving fibers. The member 22 is positioned below the drawing rolls 16 and 18 and closely adjacent the throat of the burner 26 and serves to anchor the fibers during their blast attenuation. The grooves 34 correspond in spacing with the spaces between the pins 32 of the upper guide member.

The fibers are individually threaded into the comb 24, then into the comb-upper guide member 20 and to the cott or drawing rolls 16 and 18. They are then individually fed to a groove 34 in the lower guide member 22 from which they pass into the blast from the burner 26.

I claim:

In apparatus for producing glass fiber products including a source of molten glass, a bushing having orifices therethrough for discharging streams of glass, means for drawing said streams into primary fibers for deliverance into a hot gaseous blast for attenuation into small diameter fibers, the improvement which comprises, an upper port, a plurality of spaced flexible pins extending from 5 said support, alternate pins being of one length and different from the remainder of a different length, said lower guide member including a freely rotatable cylindrical member having a plurality of spaced grooves about its periphery, each groove in said lower guide means being in alignment with a space between adjacent pins in said upper guide means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pease Feb. 6, 1923 Hassold Feb. 14, 1939 Holtschulte Sept. 18, 1956 Labino Nov. 26, 1957 Labino Nov. 27, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 2, 1903 

